


Correlation

by bluemoonmaverick



Series: Supposition [8]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Angst, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-02
Updated: 2014-06-02
Packaged: 2018-02-03 05:12:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1732409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluemoonmaverick/pseuds/bluemoonmaverick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This story is part of a series that, while sticking strictly to canon, explores the theory that Sam and Jack were engaged in a clandestine romance off-screen from Season 6 onward.</p>
<p>This tag takes place after the events of Revisions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Correlation

Sam stood still and let the spray from the shower run down her body. It had been a long week on P3X-289, and to say she was happy to be back would be a gross understatement. The toll this mission had taken had been less physical than emotional, but Sam wondered which was worse. She was still intensely troubled by the fact that the inhabitants of the planet had simply had all memory of their love ones erased after they were killed, like they never existed at all. Pallan had seemed so lost - to discover that he had a loving wife who was now dead but whom he couldn't remember - it was tragic. Despite the warmth of the water, she shivered.

On top of everything else, she was missing Jack. She and Daniel had stayed together in one house in the village, while Jack and Teal'c stayed in another. Sam knew Jack had done that on purpose, as the sleeping arrangements would probably make their way into the mission report in some form or another this time around. Better safe than sorry, she thought.

Still, she couldn't wait to feel Jack's arms around her, his lips on hers. Sure, she and Daniel had fun together; they had stayed up late chatting about everything, including Jack, who had accused them of acting "like two eight year old girls at a slumber party" when he found out. Daniel, in turn, had threatened to roll Jack's house, which ultimately led to an eyebrow raise by Teal'c upon hearing Daniel's explanation of the prank. She smiled at the thought. As much as she enjoyed Daniel's company, though, her heart belonged to only one man, and she was anxious to see him. She shut off the water and stepped out of the shower.

The women's locker room at the SGC was much smaller than the men's, but given that there were so few women on SGC teams, most days Sam had the place to herself. Today, however, was not one of them. As she exited the showers, she immediately noticed Erica Torres standing in front of her locker, staring at its contents.

Like Sam, Erica was the only female member of her unit, SG18. She was smart, attractive, and no-nonsense. Unlike Sam, she was a Marine and, though trained as a chemical engineer, was a soldier first and foremost. She was also several years younger than Sam and had a reputation for being tough as nails. Which was why Sam was so surprised to discover that she was crying.

"Erica?" Sam walked toward her. "What's wrong?"

Her features hardened, and she squared her shoulders. "Nothing." Erica didn't even look at her but began taking items from her locker and shoving them roughly into her duffle bag.

"All right," replied Sam. If she didn't walk to talk, Sam wasn't going to press. Erica continued pulling items from her locker as Sam got dressed. It soon became apparent that she was removing everything. This Sam couldn't ignore. "Erica, what the hell is going on?"

"Nothing." She said again. After a moment, she added, "I'm being redeployed. Outside of the SGC."

"What?" Sam was shocked. No one left the SGC voluntarily. For everyone she knew, this was a dream assignment. Of course, the military likewise wasn't fond of having people work outside of program once they had learned its secrets, so redeployments were rare and were usually the result of some sort of disciplinary action. "What happened?" She asked quietly.

Erica stopped for a moment and let out a sigh. She shook her head and let it drop into her hands. "I was stupid, Sam." She looked up at Sam and then lowered herself onto the bench. Sam sat beside her and waited for her to continue. For a long time, Erica just studied her fingernails. Finally, she spoke. "Reggie and I were...involved, for awhile."

Sam's eyebrows shot up. Major Reginald Lowe was the leader of SG18 and Erica's commanding officer. He was also married with one child and, if Sam remembered correctly, a second on the way. Sam was shocked, not only because Erica had an affair with a married man, but because she had absolutely no idea anything was going on between them. As far as she was aware, the only rumors about Erica centered on the theory that she wasn't even interested in men.

Erica continued. "We didn't mean for anything to happen; it just did. I knew he was married, but...well, we were together off-world so much. Out of sight, out of mind, you know." She looked up at Sam and gave her a smile with no humor in it. Her face fell, and she looked at her hands again. "Or at least that's what I thought."

"How long?" Sam asked softly.

"We were together for almost a year. Then one night a few weeks ago, out of the blue, he told me he couldn't do it anymore, that he loved his wife, that she was having another baby." She was quiet for awhile, and while her features remained stern, Sam could see the tears pooling in her eyes. "At first, we fought, and then we just didn't speak to each other for a long time." She blinked and a few of the tears fell. "I asked to be transferred to another team, but I wouldn't tell them why, and since there was nowhere for me to go..." She shrugged. "I just stayed with SG18. And things got bad, Sam. Real bad. I...I didn't handle it well, but neither did he. It was rough on all of us - my unit knew, of course, but they didn't know how to fix it. We weren't functioning as a team anymore." She paused as more tears fell. "And then I really screwed up."

"What happened?" Sam asked for a second time.

Erica was quiet for so long, Sam didn't think she was going to respond. Then she started speaking, her voice quivering. "We were on P3X-853, a routine recon mission. Reggie had us split up to search the area. He kept me with him, and sent Johansson and Riley off on their own. We'd been out there awhile when we had another fight. I got pissed and stormed off and I..." She hesitated for a moment. "I turned off my radio."

"Why would you do that?" Sam asked, her voice full of disbelief.

Erica sighed. "I didn't want to talk to him, didn't want him to find me." She shook her head. "He was being such an asshole. And I wasn't rational." Sam saw tears pooling in her eyes once again. She took a deep breath. "Turns out the mission wasn't so routine after all. Johansson and Riley ran into a Jaffa patrol. They radioed us to get to the 'gate but, of course, I didn't hear it. They wouldn't leave without me, none of them. By the time they found me, the Jaffa had the 'gate well guarded. There weren't that many of them, but we had to fight our way out. Riley got winged as he dove for the wormhole, and Johansson..." She looked up at Sam. "Fraiser thinks he'll probably make it, but he's still not out of the woods."

Sam gasped. She had heard one of the other teams was injured, but she hadn't realized it was SG18 until now. "So what did you tell Hammond?"

"He pressed us hard. I finally admitted that I turned my radio off. He asked me why, but I just told him I wanted to be alone. I kept waiting for Reggie to say something – to come to my defense or maybe take some of the blame – but he didn't say a word, Sam. Not one damn word."

Sam considered her reply. "He should have, Erica. Maybe you should tell Hammond."

She shrugged. "There's no point now. Besides, Hammond suspected something was up. He removed Reggie from command, and we're both being redeployed." She got up and slung her bag over her shoulder. "I had my dream job, Sam. The best posting in the entire military. And I lost it all because I let my heart control my head." She huffed. "And I didn't even get the guy."

As she made her way to the exit, Sam struggled to think of something to say and came up with nothing. Erica opened the door, then stopped and suddenly turned to look at Sam who was still sitting on the bench. "Don't make the same mistake I did, Sam." And with that, she walked out of the locker room - and the SGC - for good.

oOoOoOo

"They're a lot younger than we are, Sam."

Sam had been so shaken by her conversation with Erica Torres that she had considered not going to see Jack that night after all. In the end, the need to be with him had been overwhelming, so she had driven her Indian from the base straight to his house. Hammond had already made Jack aware of the facts surrounding Reggie and Erica's redeployment, and Sam had been wound up like a spring since she arrived.

Sam was now pacing, and she snapped at him mid stride. "Reggie is my age, Jack."

"Yeah, well, Reggie is an idiot. Not to mention married." Jack had been doing his best to calm Sam down, but so far he had been unsuccessful. Sam continued pacing, so he took a deep breath and tried again. "He didn't love her, Sam."

Sam stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face Jack. Her features softened. After a moment, she asked quietly, "Do you think that makes a difference?"

Jack took her into his arms and pulled her close. "I do," he said, his lips brushing her hair. "But if this relationship is making you nervous, just say the word, and we'll stop."

Sam felt her stomach clench at the thought. "That easy?" she mumbled into his chest.

"I didn't say it would be easy," he whispered, holding her tighter.

Sam felt her own tears starting to well up. She couldn't imagine her life without Jack in it. The memory of him missing with Maybourne crossed her mind, and she shuddered. She didn't think she could go through something like that again. Still, she couldn't help but feel that the situation with Reginald Lowe and Erica Torres was a bad sign, a precursor of things to come. And she wondered now whether it wouldn't be better to have the memory of love simply erased completely, as Pallan had, rather than having to live with the pain of losing it.


End file.
